From John Jay to Alexander Hamilton, 18 September 1779
To Alexander Hamilton
Pha 18 Septr. 1779
Dear Sir
Your favors of the 25, 26, & 30 July last ^& 12 Inst^1 have lain by me thus long ^unnoticed remained unanswered^. You have Reason to think ^This Circumstance^ would naturally lead you to think me inattentive; others will induce you to ascribe ^it^ to a different Cause— Exclusive of public Business which I never admit or urge as an Excuse for such omissions, want of Health has rendered me less punctual in my private Correspondence than I could
wish. The approaching Season will give me Health & Inclination will always prompt me to support a Correspondence with those I ^value & esteem, in which number I have long considered you.^
Your Sentiments respecting the Gentleman named in your first letter perfectly correspond with my own and tho I wish to see him in a Situation agreable to himself & distant from the Place of his present Residence, I cannot prevail upon myself to propose his appointmt to the one you mention, which is daily growing into Confidence & Importance.2
Whoever recommends to Office, becomes in a certain Degree responsible for the Conduct of the Person he nominates. My Doubts respecting this Gentleman are of such long standing and arise from such Circumstances as to destroy that Confidence which alone would induce me to support any Man which made a lasting ^deep^ Impression on my mind— I should never forgive myself if before these Doubts are removed I should recommend him to an office in discharging ^the execution of which^ they should become fully justified. I am think entertain with you the same Our opinions with you of his Talents Disposition & Passions and ^are the same & I^ am well apprized of the Consequences which will wd. result from their being exerted to obtain the objects he will be inclined to ^of his Pursuit—^ Some other mode of diverting them may perhaps offer—
I have seen, ^respected & pitied^ Monsr. Neuville ^respected^ and pitied him—3 Considering how some of his Countrymen have been promoted, his Feelings have doubtless been wounded. His Pretensions however were rather too high, & could not possibly be complied with.
The Conduct in the The Affair of Stony Point in whichhas at lastwill be represented to Congress this evening in a Letter from Gen. Wayne, & affords ita proper opportunity of doing something for him— My Endeavours shall not be wanting. His Exertionsexlusive of the ^his^ merit of ^in^ this action the Considerations you offer are suggested by good Policy & should always have weight.4
It gives me Pleasure to find that Fleury holds possesses your Esteem, it will add to the share he has of mine. He stands well with the Minister, & I have punctually seconded your wishes on that Head.5
How far it would be proper or possible to connect him with an American Minister are Questions about which I am by no means clear—such a Step would have Conveniences, but at the same Time be exposed to several unpleasant Consequences. Republics are always jealous, seldom liberal, never grateful, and not always just—and ^yet^ I believe, all things considered, the
best Kind ^least evil^ of ^all^ Governments. As to the Surmises Probability of my going about abroad, I think it is very distant. It is one of the last things I wish for, not from any objections to the appointmt in its simply considered ^wh[ich] would be agreable^—but from the Danger to which it would expose my Reputation but from the Danger to which every Man’s Reputation is exposed whose advancement would interfere with the views of the most intriguing unprincipalledled men I have ever met with—you know who I mean—6
The Board of War are charged with Chevalier de Colombes affair, and will probably report in his Favor—7 for my own Part I have ever been averse to giving Brevets except in very particular Cases—it cheapens us— I am &c
Col. Hamilton
Dft, NNC (EJ: 5638).
1. Only Hamilton’s 25 July letter to JJ has been found (, 2: 110–11). The letter referred to as that of 26 July is probably Hamilton’s letter of 26 June, discussed below.
2. In his letter to JJ of 26 June, Hamilton recommended recently retired Col. William Malcom (d. 1792) for appointment to the Board of War, in part to remove him, a man of “restless temper, artful, plausible and popular, addicted to cabal,” from New York politics, where he was expected to seek constitutional changes Hamilton deemed undesirable. , 2: 82–83.
3. Impecunious French volunteer René-Hippolyte Penot Lomard de Noirmont (de la Neuville), also discussed in Hamilton’s 26 June letter. Congress appointed him a major by brevet on 29 July 1778 and, following receipt of a letter from Anthony Wayne of 10 Aug., allowed him the pay and subsistence of a major on 23 Aug. 1779. See JJ to Washington, 25 Aug. 1779, n. 8, above; and , 2: 83, 84n.
4. On the victory at Stony Point, see JJ to Washington, 27 July 1779, above, and to Wayne of the same date, PHi: Wayne (EJ: 1167).
5. In his letter of 25 July, Hamilton reported François-Louis Teissèdre, Marquis de Fleury (b. 1749), as preparing to leave for France and as having an “expectation of obtaining the Secretaryship of the next embassy to this country.” He requested JJ to promote that appointment if possible without stepping aside from the line of propriety. Hamilton added, “It is said a new minister is going from Congress to the Court of France and it is surmised the choice will fall upon you,” in which case Fleury might be valuable to JJ when he first arrived in France. On 27 Sept. 1779 Congress granted Fleury leave to return to France (, 8: 739). However, upon learning of d’Estaing’s arrival in Georgia, he went instead to the Southern Department “in pursuit of fresh laurels.” Fleury participated in the Yorktown campaign and ultimately returned to his military career in France. , 14: 5.
6. Undoubtedly a reference to the Lees and their supporters.
7. Despite the Board of War’s recommendation, on 24 Sept., Louis St. Ange Morel, Chevalier de la Colombe (b. 1755), French volunteer and aide to Lafayette and to Baron de Kalb, brevetted captain by Congress in November 1777, failed to receive the nine congressional votes needed for a brevet commission as major. He returned to France in 1780, joined the French army, and served in the Yorktown campaign. During the French Revolution he served with Lafayette and was imprisoned with him in 1792, then settled in Philadelphia. See , 13: 216, 15: 1102–3n1; , 13: 512–13; , 16: 58.